Press Release

As Trump Guts Federal Science Agencies, Senator Wiener Introduces Legislation to Create New Science Institute and Authorize Vaccine Purchase and Production

SAN FRANCISCO – As the Trump Administration methodically guts federal science agencies and undermines vaccine access, Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) introduced Senate Bill 829, legislation to affirm California’s commitment to science and create the California Institute for Scientific Research (CISR). SB 829 also authorizes California - through the CalRx initiative - to procure, manufacture, and otherwise expand access to vaccines, given the Trump Administration’s aggressive assault on vaccine access.

Scientific research and innovation is the engine of California’s economic prosperity. It undergirds the University of California and other universities here; it drives the creation and success of Silicon Valley; and California’s dominance in health care. It also provides lower costs for families and protects public health. 

This foundation of the state’s success is being threatened by Elon Musk, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and President Trump’s attempts to bulldoze through our most esteemed scientific institutions. For example, Musk’s “Department” of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is slashing and burning National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control, and the National Weather Service, the National Science Foundation, and other agencies. The Trump Administration is also threatening significant scientific research funding cuts.

CISR will enable continued scientific advancement by awarding grants and making loans to public or private research companies, universities, institutes, and organizations for scientific research and development.

The Trump Administration’s hostility to science is also putting California’s public health at risk by undermining the nation’s vaccination infrastructure. To protect Californians from public health disasters like the measles outbreak in Texas, SB 829 directs the state to produce vaccines through the CalRx program.

“As Trump, Musk, and RFK Jr. tear apart federal science leadership, California must step up for science. California must lead,” said Senator Wiener. “California is a global leader on science in our own right, and we must step in to protect our scientific institutions from the new Administration’s anti-science, Make America Sick Again onslaught. Scientific research is absolutely essential to our efforts to lower costs for families, respond to the threats of climate change, and protect the health of our children. For California to thrive, we must defend science.”

California produces an astonishing share of the top scientific research on the planet. Three of every ten dollars in federal research investments are drawn to California. The state accounts for 47% of U.S. biotechnology research and development spending, and generates 53% of the nation’s biotech revenues. Nearly half of all venture capital in the United States is invested in California.

That success is driven in large part by the state’s world-class universities and research institutions. The University of California is the top research institution in the world for U.S. patent generation. 

DOGE is systematically dismantling scientific research in America by slashing personnel and programs at all federal science agencies, threatening the continued leadership, and perhaps the existence, of these agencies. California must step up and fill the void left by the federal cuts.

SB 829 creates the California Institute for Scientific Research (CISR) within the Government Operations Agency. It directs the Institute to fund scientific research in areas including but not limited to: 

  • Biomedical
  • Behavioral 
  • Climate
  • Weather 
  • Ocean
  • Coastal and marine ecosystems and resources
  • Detecting and responding to new and emerging health threats
  • Disease prevention
  • Promoting healthy and safe behaviors, communities and environment
  • Safety, efficacy, and security of drugs, biological products, medical devices, our nation's food supply, and cosmetics

SB 829 additionally creates the California Institute for Scientific Research Council, which shall develop the strategic objectives and priorities of the program. 

Lastly, the bill directs the CalRx program to enter into partnerships or contracts resulting in the production and distribution of vaccines, with the intent that these drugs be made widely available to public and private purchasers, providers, suppliers, and pharmacies.

SB 829 is joint authored by Senator Akilah Weber Pierson (D-La Mesa), and co-authored by Senators Josh Becker (D-Menlo Park), and Jerry McNerny (D-Pleasanton).

 

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